Driving the speed limit? (1 Viewer)

[FreeBaGeL]

Yes the unwritten rule is obviously 5-10mph over, and that's where I'm typically at.  But no I don't find it "maddening" when someone is driving the actual speed limit and technically following the law instead of the unwritten rules that aren't bulletproof.  Yes I do find it "maddening" when they do it in the left lane though.

Here's a question though, how much trouble can you get in for following the unwritten rules if something unforeseen happens?  If you get into a bad accident or god forbid hit a pedestrian that darts out in front of you or something, one of the questions you are going to be asked is were you speeding.  How much trouble could it potentially put you in there to have to answer "well technically yes I was speeding."?

 

[FreeBaGeL]

And by the way, there is a special place in the universe for the people who drive the speed limit in the left lane.  What I don’t get is that everyone seems to universally agree on this point—so then who the heck are those people??!

I think most people are just oblivious.  I've only ever met one person that proudly admitted they drive slowly in the left lane.  My uncle's girlfriend once told me she is typically a slow driver and on the interstate she is not comfortable driving in the right lane because the potential of merging traffic makes her anxious, so she wants to stay in the left lane out of their way (all the time for some reason) but doesn't want to speed.

I straight up told her she shouldn't have a driver's license.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

And by the way, there is a special place in the universe for the people who drive the speed limit in the left lane.  What I don’t get is that everyone seems to universally agree on this point—so then who the heck are those people??!

My dad.  Who used to speed all the time when younger but now drives in the left lane and says “I’m going the speed limit jackass, if you don’t like it go around me on the right.”

 

[brun]

Doesn't seem like there's any benefit to speeding in residential areas. At most probably only cuts off a few seconds on your trip. My new neighbor puts an orange cone out at entrance to our cul d sac. When he told me he was doing that I laughed and said it's good target practice for me. Later his wife mentioned that it's really for the UPS, Amazon etc. drivers. I said yeah, I can see that.

Usually 5-20 over on the highway depending on how far I'm going, conditions, traffic etc. Always give a thank you wave if someone moves out of the left lane so I don't need to slow down too much. Generally limit to 15 over for backroads.

Last accident was due to speeding. Was going up an incline that curved to the right and down when you reached the top. As I neared the top a car came speeding up .the other side. He was fish tailing, hit the snow bank and shot straight across toward me. I barely avoided the head on, but he took out my entire driver's side and totalled my car.

I think current cars can safely be driven over the limit but you still gotta use your brain. 

 

[Otis]

I think current cars can safely be driven over the limit but you still gotta use your brain. 

Unfortunately I think this is where lots of people struggle. 

 

[Sea Duck]

We need to bring back those educational driving films from high school -- but update them for the 21st century, and broadcast them on TV in prime time.

 

[Tick]

Am I wrong about this? 

Yes.

 

[FairWarning]

do truckers have gps that tracks how fast they go because sometimes they get in the fast left lane and only go like 1 or 2 over to get around another truck before moving back over and i have always wondered why they do not just speed up for a bit thanks for answering of you can take that to the bank brohan

Some of the bigger fleets do have governors that regulate the speed, usually at 65-70MPH.  It saves on fuel and insurance. 

 

[Zasada]

I have no issues with people driving the speed limit, as long as they're in the right lane.  Maybe they're uncomfortable driving faster.  Maybe one more demerit is going to result in license revocation (legit reason my friend didn't speed even a little for about a year).  Maybe they're low on gas and need to stretch things to get to the next station (first-hand experience).

Only tangentially related story, since we're on the topic of safety:

I was driving down a residential street, both sides lined with parked cars.  Kids poked their head out from between the cars and moved to cross.  I stopped.  Impatient lunatic behind me swings out to go around me, just as the kids are getting in front of my car.  I had no ####### idea what to do to tell him to not pass (wave, honk, yell?).  After what seemed like an eternity of panic in my head, he finally sees the kids and stops beside me (in the oncoming lane, of course).  We lock eyes and he knows exactly what almost just happened.  Hopefully he was just as scared as me.

So yeah, drive safe.  I really don't care if you speed in the right conditions.  But there are also circumstances where the posted limit is NOT safe.

 

[FairWarning]

A lot of cops or speed guns around weight stations.  

 

[Doug B]

You’ve gotten a ticket for 3mph over the limit?  Where do you live?

In the 90s, my dad got a speeding ticket on the I-10 in St Charles Parish, Louisiana. 71 mph in a 70 mph. Just wasn’t my dad’s day.

 

[Drunken knight]

Parking lots, residential areas, blind turns... I am very conservative

On main streets in town the speed limit is 35.  Sometimes they seem appropriate. Several areas 40-45 is more reasonable.

highways: speed limit is 65, typically 3 lanes. 

left lane-> 75-80 is the speed of traffic. When someone is doing 65-70 (under normal conditions), it creates more congestion and more aggressive driving, as the that is similar to the speed of the middle lane

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Many truckers stay in the middle lane in freeways where there are a lot of exits.  If they are in the right lane all of the time, cars do not let him move over a lane so merging traffic can enter.  That is a potential accident right there.  Ive seen many cars try to speed around me, figuring I can just stop.

Oh I wasn't talking about truckers, sorry.  I meant monster trucks.  The little ##### w big lifts.  Those guys absolutely know they are holding people up but feel like they're tanks give them rights to dominate the roads.  D-bags.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Fyi, 80 plus percent of the time slow drivers in left lane are messing with their phones.  As someone who commutes to work 60 miles a day.  The worst is when you pass them, they probably get off their phone and ride your tail.

Infuriating, once you get by and see them on their phone.  I once got around a lady, along with a slew of other cars doing the same, to find her doing her makeup in the mirror. Driving a Tesla on auto, holding an entire freeway hostage while she put her face on.  60 MPH in the left lane.  That one sent me.

I actually slowed down once in front of her enough to possibly get her to realize there are other humans on the planet.

 

[nysfl2]

One universal rule I maintain is don't drive even 1 mile over the speed limit in Ohio when you have Michigan license plates. 

Other than that, I use a rule of thumb of 15% higher than the posted limit is safe.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Truckers for the most part "stay in their lane".  But there are two types of truckers that aren't cool.  The guy that pulls out in front of you to get around another trucker.  Especially on the open road, all it takes is a little consideration to realize you can let the car coming up quickly in your rearview mirror, in their own lane, to go on by.  But they'll pull in front of you anyway.  Happens a lot.  Some I think do it on purpose.  True A-holes.

And they could at least speed up while getting around another trucker, especially when pulling in front of cars.  But no, they'll leave it on cruise control and take however long to get by another truck, or more.  Even if that means keeping it at 67, while the others are going 65.  Dude, you can at least pick it up a little bit for the people now forced to wait fo you to turtle by.

On two-lane highways, these types really slow things down.  3-lanes as well.

 

[DallasDMac]

That’s absurd. I would laugh at an officer if he pulled me over for 3mph over the limit. 

Probably a good time to add, it was 5:30 a.m. and the only two cars out there were me and him. By the time I got the 3rd pull-over, I was lucky i wasn't given harsher punishment for what I put on the signature line

 

[Caveman33]

My dad.  Who used to speed all the time when younger but now drives in the left lane and says “I’m going the speed limit jackass, if you don’t like it go around me on the right.”

My Dad was the same way, though I'm not sure how much of a speeder he was as a youth.  I always tried to explain to him that he was the problem on the road.  By forcing more aggressive drivers to weave around, he was increasing the likelihood for an accident to occur.  But he was always a terrible, distracted driver.   It usually takes two terrible drivers for an accident to occur.

 

[Caveman33]

Truckers for the most part "stay in their lane".  But there are two types of truckers that aren't cool.  The guy that pulls out in front of you to get around another trucker.  Especially on the open road, all it takes is a little consideration to realize you can let the car coming up behind you, in their own lane, go by first.  But they pull right anyway.  Some I think like doing it on purpose.  A-holes.

And they could at least speed up while getting around another trucker, especially when pulling in front of cars.  But no, they'll leave it on cruise control and take however long to get by another truck or more.  Even if that means keeping it at 67, while the others are going 65.  Dude, you can pick it up just a little bit for the people behind you while you get by.

On two-lane highways, these types really slow things down.  3-lanes as well.

Truckers have to consider their fuel costs more than us cars so we have to give them some consideration in regards to not making them brake unnecessarily.  They are aggressive about securing their passing lanes but they should be more considerate about executing the pass in a timely fashion if they cut off a car.

 

[jhib]

On country roads, speed limit drivers don't bother me too much as long as there are decent opportunities to pass. And even when there aren't, I just can resign myself to it and settle in at that speed.  But drivers who travel at inconsistent speeds drive me bonkers, especially when they speed up when in a passing zone.

I'll take the person driving a steady 50 in a 50 any day over one ranging from 45 to 55 for no apparent reason.

 

[Dolfan]

Add my age to the speed limit and divide by 1.6. Figure the older I am, the faster I can go and get away with it.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Drive the speed limit in residential areas and go with the flow of traffic on interstate highways, please.

You're not impressing anyone with your weaving skills or how much more important you think your time is than theirs. 

If I'm already going 10 MPH over the limit on the highway and you start tailgating me you can be sure of one thing...I'll soon be going 5 MPH over.

 

[The Big Donkey]

Truckers for the most part "stay in their lane".  But there are two types of truckers that aren't cool.  The guy that pulls out in front of you to get around another trucker.  Especially on the open road, all it takes is a little consideration to realize you can let the car coming up behind you, in their own lane, go by first.  But they pull right anyway.  Some I think like doing it on purpose.  A-holes.

And they could at least speed up while getting around another trucker, especially when pulling in front of cars.  But no, they'll leave it on cruise control and take however long to get by another truck or more.  Even if that means keeping it at 67, while the others are going 65.  Dude, you can pick it up just a little bit for the people behind you while you get by.

On two-lane highways, these types really slow things down.  3-lanes as well.

just watch out for cattle haulers, they dgaf.

 

[AAABatteries]

Drive the speed limit in residential areas and go with the flow of traffic on interstate highways, please.

You're not impressing anyone with your weaving skills or how much more important you think your time is than theirs. 

If I'm already going 10 MPH over the limit on the highway and you start tailgating me you can be sure of one thing...I'll soon be going 5 MPH over.

But are you in the left lane?

 

[Andy Dufresne]

But are you in the left lane?

Only if I'm passing someone.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

After 20+ years posting on this board, I'm confident to say that the "driving complaints" category of posts almost always boil down to one simple statement - "I am a good driver and everyone else on the road is a complete idiot."

Whether they are driving too fast, too slow, wrong lane, on the phone, on a bicycle (Iron Sheik) or backing into a parking spot - the morons that do that are endangering all of Western Civilization, but its OK when I do it because I'm a good driver and can do it safely.

 

[Zow]

I just did a cross (half) country trip and have done a ton of road-tripping since the pandemic.

By far the widest ranging problem is the sheer amount of drivers that stay in the left lane, making others find a way around them.  Many oblivious.  They need to educate the public more, you rarely see the "slower traffic keep right" signs anymore.  And cops need to start doling out tickets for it.  I know they are in some states but no idea how that's going.

As for the drivers that stay in the left lane, all the while knowing cars are behind them waiting to get by?  That's a special kind of #######.  One in particular I would notice was massive truck guy.  Of no surprise.  It's his world, his highway.

The. Absolute. Worst. 

 

[Zow]

And by the way, there is a special place in the universe for the people who drive the speed limit in the left lane.  What I don’t get is that everyone seems to universally agree on this point—so then who the heck are those people??!

I knew one - my maternal grandfather (RIP). 

Loved the guy to death and was fortunate enough to have him around for three decades of my life. However, aside from the occasional political point gone awry, the only time I didn't think he was the greatest guy on the planet was when I would ride with him. He'd set his cruise at ~3 mph below the speed limit and park himself in the lefthand lane of a major highway. We'd always get passed on the right and I, sitting in the front right passenger seat, would constantly be getting angry looks and death stares. It was so embarassing. 

Finally got the nerve to ask him about it and he claimed the limit is a hard limit and he is doing his duty to slow others down and yada yada.  I stopped listening to him after he started in on his rant because he was saying the things I hoped he wouldn't. 

 

[Zow]

Truckers for the most part "stay in their lane".  But there are two types of truckers that aren't cool.  The guy that pulls out in front of you to get around another trucker.  Especially on the open road, all it takes is a little consideration to realize you can let the car coming up behind you, in their own lane, go by first.  But they pull right anyway.  Some I think like doing it on purpose.  A-holes.

And they could at least speed up while getting around another trucker, especially when pulling in front of cars.  But no, they'll leave it on cruise control and take however long to get by another truck or more.  Even if that means keeping it at 67, while the others are going 65.  Dude, you can pick it up just a little bit for the people behind you while you get by.

On two-lane highways, these types really slow things down.  3-lanes as well.

I talked to a few truckers about this as it drives me nuts, too. Apparently their pay is oftentimes correllated to both time taken for the drive and fuel economy. As such, they don't want to slow down quickly or speed up quickly because of the gas mileage implications. 

Oh, and they don't give a rat's ### about you. It's like Otis walking around downtown NYC and running over tourists.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

After 20+ years posting on this board, I'm confident to say that the "driving complaints" category of posts almost always boil down to one simple statement - "I am a good driver and everyone else on the road is a complete idiot."

Whether they are driving too fast, too slow, wrong lane, on the phone, on a bicycle (Iron Sheik) or backing into a parking spot - the morons that do that are endangering all of Western Civilization, but its OK when I do it because I'm a good driver and can do it safely.

George Carlin

 

[Poke_4_Life]

I'm around 5 over except for neighborhoods and a few through streets around my neighborhood that cops frequent for their quota. 

I usually do 5-10 over on highways, but keep it closer to 5 over in the cities.  Between metro areas it is much closer to 10 over.  

Oh, and people that speed in neighborhoods suck.  I also think they must never walk/run/play in their neighborhood.  I love to go as slow as possible when some jackhole is riding my ### in my own neighborhood.  :getoffmylawn:

 

[the moops]

Highway - easily go 10-20 over the limit, especially once out of the metro area.

Any residential street I am generally 5-10 mph under the limit. No way anyone should be going 30-40 mph on residential streets. Big fan of the "twenty is plenty" campaign

 

[Terminalxylem]

Highway - easily go 10-20 over the limit, especially once out of the metro area.

Any residential street I am generally 5-10 mph under the limit. No way anyone should be going 30-40 mph on residential streets. Big fan of the "twenty is plenty" campaign

While I don’t speed past rows of parked cars, ball fields with kids, around corners, etc., 20 mph is painfully slow in some neighborhoods. Where I live the roads are extra wide, so you have plenty of warning if someone is pulling out or an animal/child is darting into the road. Heck, there’s a 6 lane road with driveways that feed directly into it, whose speed limit is 35-40 the whole way. Even going 45 mph feels too slow on that “residential” street.

More than speeding or blocking the left lane, tailgating is my biggest driving peeve. But leaving enough space almost guarantees someone will leap frog in front of you, forcing you to slow down to maintain an appropriate space cushion. And I’ve never brake checked, but have been tempted to do so every time a ginormous truck barrels down on my rear bumper in traffic with nowhere to go. Didn’t everyone learn the “one car length for every 10mph” rule-of-thumb?

 

[Chris B.]

Lunatics? Maddening? 
It's not that big a deal. I hope you have a good day.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I just did a cross (half) country trip and have done a ton of road-tripping since the pandemic.

By far the widest ranging problem is the sheer amount of drivers that stay in the left lane, making others find a way around them.  Many oblivious.  They need to educate the public more, you rarely see the "slower traffic keep right" signs anymore.  And cops need to start doling out tickets for it.  I know they are in some states but no idea how that's going.

As for the drivers that stay in the left lane, all the while knowing cars are behind them waiting to get by?  That's a special kind of #######.  One in particular I would notice was massive truck guy.  Of no surprise.  It's his world, his highway.

Now that we’re in the age of analytics- I’d love to see how much production would be gained if all the slow left lane people simply moved to the right for the love of Christ!?!?  
 

Ive been championing a revival of the old PSA videos and getting people out of the left lane is episode 1. 
 

 

[Osaurus]

If you drive through Wisconsin with an Illinois license plate......at 10-20 over......you will get ticketed a lot.   Somewhere between 5-10 over is safe in a lot of the Midwest (at least in my experience).   15-20 over definitely gets you a ticket.   When I was younger the rule of thumb was don't go more than 7mph over the limit.

Every time I spend time in the Milwaukee area, I slow way down and drive like the locals vs. Florida roads where everyone is a NASCAR driver. 

 

[scorchy]

Now that we’re in the age of analytics- I’d love to see how much production would be gained if all the slow left lane people simply moved to the right for the love of Christ!?!?  
 

Ive been championing a revival of the old PSA videos and getting people out of the left lane is episode 1. 
 

Maybe 3-4 years ago, I spent almost 3 weeks in Europe driving our rental Suzuki Leon through seven countries.  1700 km, 18 hours, and I can't recall ever seeing (1) a left-lane driver that wasn't passing (and then moving over as soon as possible) or (2) a driver passing another vehicle on the right.  Least frustrating long-haul trip ever.  Just don't understand why we can't be like that over here.

 

[leftcoastguy7]

Merica.

I’ll drive in whatever ####### lane I want.

 

[Doug B]

Any residential street I am generally 5-10 mph under the limit. No way anyone should be going 30-40 mph on residential streets. Big fan of the "twenty is plenty" campaign

In the state of Louisiana, I believe almost all (suburban, single-family homes) residential areas are 20 mph. I've seen a very occasional 25-mph area.

I'm a little surprised to learn that there are faster limits in suburban neighborhoods in other parts of the country. I do remember once visiting an apartment complex in the Houston, TX area set on a 45-mph highway. It didn't seem like there were any lights near enough to stop the flow of traffic for very long. The people that lived there were used to Frogger-ing across that highway on foot for quick errands like going to the "corner store" and such.

 

[Doug B]

Heck, there’s a 6 lane road with driveways that feed directly into it, whose speed limit is 35-40 the whole way. Even going 45 mph feels too slow on that “residential” street.

See, that's problematic to me. You're cruising at 45 mph and then the car in front of you has to turn into their driveway. That's a heck of a lot of braking. I know you said there are other lanes ... but it seems that doing any driving in the right lane there would be a PITA.

Are the driveways set up so that it's not sharp 90-degree turns from the main drag?

 

[Terminalxylem]

See, that's problematic to me. You're cruising at 45 mph and then the car in front of you has to turn into their driveway. That's a heck of a lot of braking. I know you said there are other lanes ... but it seems that doing any driving in the right lane there would be a PITA.

Are the driveways set up so that it's not sharp 90-degree turns from the main drag?

Driveways are positioned at right angles to the road. The only saving grace is there’s a wide bike lane that people can effectively use as a turning/merge lane. As a cyclist that makes me cringe, but it doesn’t happen all that often.

Compounding matters is island driving etiquette, where people inexplicably stop to let people enter the road. This occurs without warning, whether traffic is present or not. I guess that’s why many of our actual highway entry/exit points have little to no space for merging/slowing down.

I never drive in the right lane going into town, but surprisingly, the ocean side of the road tends to have the fastest flow of traffic. Then again, there are far fewer homes and side streets on the beachfront.

 

[the moops]

Driveways are positioned at right angles to the road. The only saving grace is there’s a wide bike lane that people can effectively use as a turning/merge lane. As a cyclist that makes me cringe, but it doesn’t happen all that often.

Nooooooo!!!!

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

So the right answer is really flow of traffic

It's not the speed that's a problem, it's the variability in speed.

 

[jhib]

Somewhat related, I ran into an odd speed limit situation last week.  While driving along some windy back roads with my daughter recently (she was driving), we were discussing advisory speed limits that go along with tight curves, and how they differ from regular speed limits.

But just as we were changing the topic of conversation, we passed a regular black & white 30 mph speed limit sign followed (100 yards later, tops) by a curve with a yellow 35 mph advisory sign. 

Guess even they figure the 30 means 40.

 

[Doug B]

Anyone who wants to drive fast in New Orleans neighborhoods is going to run afoul of the deep potholes prevalent in the city. Shaving a minute off your drive time just isn't worth the flat tires, bent rims, and broken axles. Some of these get fixed after a while, but some never get fixed. People with political connections who live in nice neighborhoods will sometimes use their pull to prevent pothole repairs in their neighborhood to discourage through traffic and to ensure that any car that does drive through has to crawl through at an idle.

There was a pothole near my wife's friends' house that was so deep and cavernous that neighborhood kids used it for a hangout. Sort of like this one, but taking up more of the road's surface area (Facebook link to same).

 

[Terminalxylem]

Nooooooo!!!!

I was a commuter cyclist for over a decade, using those same lanes. It's not ideal. Even worse, effing mopeds, typically ridden by distracted, helmetless tourists or Hell's lil' angels are also allowed to use them.

What should be one of the best places in the planet to bike is actually pretty horrendous.